This week in higher ed

â€¢The fact that only one member of the Tennessee Board of Regents is black is expected
to change soon. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, who could replace as many as three members
of the TBR, has said that having only one minority member on the board does not reflect
the diversity of the state. Maxine Smith, Memphis, is TBRs only African-American member.
According to the 2000 Census, one in six of the states citizens are African-American,
so a representative board would include three black regents. (The Tennessean, 6/1/04)
•The fact that only one member of the Tennessee Board of Regents is black is expected
to change soon. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, who could replace as many as three members
of the TBR, has said that having only one minority member on the board does not reflect
the diversity of the state. Maxine Smith, Memphis, is TBR's only African-American
member. According to the 2000 Census, one in six of the state's citizens are African-American,
so a representative board would include three black regents. (The Tennessean, 6/1/04)

•According to the Education Trust, a Washington-based nonprofit group, the majority
of Latinos and blacks who enter four-year colleges have no degree to show for it six
years later. Of the 772 four-year schools with student bodies that are at least 5
percent black, nearly 40 percent graduated fewer than 30 percent of their black students.
Sixty-eight schools, or nearly 10 percent, graduated fewer than 10 percent. (Associated
Press, 5/27/04)

•The University of Georgia could become a school without a name since it has cut ties
to the University of Georgia Foundation. The school let its trademark lapse, and last
year the foundation applied for the rights to all things labeled “University of Georgia.”
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has said the name is not owned by anyone but the state of
Georgia. The feud between the university and the foundation is rooted in UGA President
Michael Adams' decision not to renew the contract of beloved athletic director Vince
Dooley. (Associated Press, 5/28/04)

•The critically acclaimed Southern literary magazine Oxford American will be revived
once more thanks to a three-year, $490,000 contract with the University of Central
Arkansas. (Associated Press, 5/26/04)

•Universities have found a new way to keep alumni involved: building assisted-living
housing to attract older graduates. They are even offering these alums access to classes
and cultural activities at the school. (USA Today, 5/20/04)

•Mississippi's long-running college desegregation case is heading back to the U.S.
Supreme Court. In January, a federal judge upheld a $503 million settlement in the
case that stems from a lawsuit accusing Mississippi of neglecting its historically
black universities for decades. (CNN, 5/20/04)